The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing or otherwise handling an alarm, or information regarding the alarm, for a communication network.
In some networks containing devices, a network management system may be used to monitor the network and devices. In addition, the network management system may be used to allow an operator to receive messages regarding the status of the network, components or links in the network, etc. In some situations, an alarm or other message may be created when a problem exists in the network or with a component or device in the network. For example, a switch in the network may experience a power failure or a communication link between a base transceiver and a mobile device (e.g., a cellular telephone) may suffer quality problems.
An alarm or message indicative of a network problem may include information regarding the problem. As a network may experience a variety of problems simultaneously, sending such information to the network management system each time a problem exists or an alarm is created may impact the performance of the network or the network management system or otherwise create data traffic burdens for the network or the network management system. For example, if enough problems occur in a network at about the same time, the network management system may not be able to handle all of the alarms or other messages sent to it. Thus, some of the alarm or message information may be lost or another device may need to store the alarms or other messages on behalf of the network management system. As a result, the device and the network management system may need to periodically align themselves with regard to the alarms or other information, thereby creating further traffic on the network and increasing the burden of the network management system.
It would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus that overcame the drawbacks of the prior art. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a system, method, apparatus, means, and computer program code that reduced the burden on a network management system, network, components of the network, etc. when one or more alarms are created.